


Moments of Determination

by splashstar



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Spoilers - Undertale Pacifist Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:35:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24096667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/splashstar/pseuds/splashstar
Summary: --an au where sans, alphys, and gaster worked together on the dt experiments.[originally written in April and May 2017]
Relationships: Alphys & Sans (Undertale), W. D. Gaster & Sans
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. be merciful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you heard the clinking of syringes being put back behind you where alphys had been working. “Please be merciful, Dr. Gaster,” she muttered quietly to herself.

the lighting was less than ideal for you to be able to see what exactly you were doing. you knew for sure alphys could barely see what _she_ was doing either. you didn’t even know what time it was (not that you think it really mattered). last you checked, the clock in the bedroom said 1:07, and god knows how much time had passed since then.

you and alphys had been busy working on the determination experiments without gaster, just for a few days. he had left the two of you notes; scanning over them for the first time, you thought they almost looked like high school sub plans.

by 2:11--when was the last time you stayed up this late?--you were just about done with your part of checking and taking notes on the test subjects for the night. “hopefully this is enough for g to work with,” you breathed out, jotting down your last few notes onto the paper on your clipboard.

you heard the clinking of syringes being put back behind you where alphys had been working. “Please be merciful, Dr. Gaster,” she muttered quietly to herself.

you set the clipboard down on the table near the syringes, and she quickly looked over your notes. you shoved your hands in your pockets--your god-awful lab coat pockets that you hated so much but didn't actually care enough to complain--and gave her a tired smile. “you know he isn't gonna be.”

you saw alphys’ eyes glance up at you behind her thick glasses, a slightly defeated look on her face. she looked back down and sighed. “You’re right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when i was retyping these out i realized how short they were, and then i realized i did that on purpose lol...
> 
> all of the chapters take place at different times within the process of them doing the dt experiments!


	2. Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You looked and saw a familiar monster in a lab coat, arms folded and head down on the desk, a stack of papers sitting next to them.

You got to the lab at around seven in the morning. You slipped your lab coat on--it was just a little dirty, but you could manage--and stepped into the bedroom. You knew Sans and Alphys weren’t going to arrive for another hour at least, so you had to work by yourself for now--not that it wasn’t anything you couldn’t handle (nor was it anything unusual, if you were being honest with yourself).

You closed the door behind you in one of the test rooms. On your right were two monsters lying in the beds, still comatose. A few golden flowers from Asgore’s garden--you could count how many times you’d actually been there for more than five minutes on one hand--were planted in pots on the shelves to your left.

Right when you turned your head, something caught your eye from across the room--a familiar monster in a lab coat, arms folded and head down on the desk, a stack of papers sitting next to them. With cautious steps, you got closer, and realized it was Sans, asleep.

Not wanting to wake him, you silently looked over the papers next to him. They seemed to be notes from the night before, all with timestamps next to them--10:34 PM, 11:29 PM, 12:06 AM, the list went on. The paper under his right arm showed the last time he recorded to be 3:13 AM.

_...He’d actually stayed up that late?_

You chuckled quietly as you scanned over the papers. The words came out of your mouth as a murmur. “You didn’t have to, Sans.”

You put down the paper you were holding, gently picked him up out of the chair he was sitting in--he was surprisingly light without his usual blue jacket--and set him down in an empty bed in the bedroom. You pulled the blanket over him and left him to rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i remember gaster being an interesting character to experiment with in terms of headcanons and honestly, even though i didn't use this hc for this fic, i've always thought of him as being the middle skelebro...
> 
> also i do vaguely remember thinking about that weird spoon thing in the true lab when i wrote this one...


	3. Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That was what it was, you realized: Sans wasn’t in the lab.

You had only been in the lab for what you measured to be somewhere around an hour and a half, and you already felt as if something was off.

You were in the middle of writing down notes when you felt your phone vibrate in the right pocket of your lab coat. Someone had texted you, and something jumped inside you when you realized it was Sans.

That was what it was, you realized: Sans wasn’t in the lab.

_hey alph, i’m gonna be out today_

_just tell g i guess_

You paused to think, then your claws began to tap lightly onto the screen on your phone.

_why? is something going on?_

You hit “send,” and stared at the conversation for a few seconds. No response. You breathed out through your nose, put your phone back into sleep mode, and tucked it back in your pocket. You continued your work, and neither you nor Dr. Gaster had spoken until a couple minutes after Sans texted you.

“Dr. Alphys?”

Almost immediately, you straightened up and turned around in your chair the second you heard his voice. He was standing next to one of the test tables, an empty syringe in his right hand, head turned to face you. You quickly adjusted your glasses. “Y-yes?”

“Where is Dr. Sans?” he asked. “I know he never really comes here on time, but he’s unusually late today, don’t you think?”

“Oh, uh...” You spun the chair completely around to face him and nervously folded your hands in your lap. “H-he just texted me. He said he wasn’t going to be here today.”

Dr. Gaster paused. “Why not? Did something happen?”

“I asked him, but...I-I didn’t get a reply yet.”

Dr. Gaster nodded slowly in understanding and put the syringe back. “...I see.”

Your gaze dropped toward the floor as he turned back around to jot something down on his clipboard. You didn’t realize it when you started to talk again, but your voice had gotten quieter. “I hope he’s doing okay.”

“...I do, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't entirely remember the context of my thoughts when i was writing this one, but i think i was playing around with the idea of sans having some mental issues even before things started to go to shit


	4. Entry Number Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I thought they were goners…?"

“Everyone that had fallen down...has woken up,” you spoke into the tape recorder. “They’re all walking around and talking like nothing is wrong. I thought they were goners…?”

You released your claw from the record button and put the tape recorder down on the desk, which was completely covered in papers with observations, research, and timestamps on them. In hindsight, it was probably more than was actually needed, but you supposed it was just to make sure nothing went awry.

You walked back into the bedroom and saw Sans--back against the wall, seemingly completely relaxed--writing on a paper attached to the clipboard in his hands. The test subjects, all awake and active by now, were sitting together and having normal conversations with each other, talking about their families and how they couldn’t wait to see them again. It was a huge contrast--a good one--compared to how they were when the experiments started.

“I-is Dr. Gaster here yet?” you asked quietly, shuffling over to Sans. “Does he know…?”

“nope, he’s not here,” he answered, “but he did say he was gonna be here in a bit. and yeah, he knows.”

“O-okay. Just making sure.”

It didn’t take long for Dr. Gaster to arrive. He talked to a few of the subjects on his way to one of the test rooms--you couldn’t catch what he was saying to them--before calling you and Sans to follow him into the room.

“So,” Dr. Gaster began, closing the door behind him. “It seems like they really are acting normally. Did anything else happen before this?”

“W-well, other than having to help them get used to moving around again, nothing really stood out as suspicious,” you explained. “I-I think they’re okay.”

Dr. Gaster nodded in thought.

Sans shrugged and tucked the clipboard under his right arm. “hey, i think this worked out pretty well. nothing’s wrong with ‘em anymore, and we got what we needed, right? wouldn’t that mean they’re good to go?”

Dr. Gaster shook his head. “Experiments can fail easily. There is still room for something to go wrong. Let’s not celebrate yet,” he suggested, a serious tone in his voice. “The best thing we can do right now is keep them under watch for a while longer, just in case.”

“...right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and the rest is history...
> 
> hopefully this wasn't too weird to read through, i kinda just thought the idea was neat lol


End file.
